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US Supreme Court Rules on Fair Housing Issue

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday (6/25/15) that disparate impact claims are allowed under the Fair Housing laws. Although most federal appellate courts had previously come to the same decision–including the one that oversees Alabama federal courts–there had been no SCOTUS decision. Now there is.

The case arose out of a Texas housing authority practice of awarding low income housing tax credits to build affordable housing in predominantly Black inner-city neighborhoods, rather than largely white suburbs. There was nothing explicitly discriminatory in the actions, but it had the effect (the “disparate impact”) of denying suburban housing to a protected class.

On a smaller scale, we can probably expect to see disparate impact claims for

apartment communities that do not provide secure and enclosed play areas for children (familial status)